Professor Andreas Hadjar, from the University of Fribourg (CH) & University of Luxembourg (LU) is going to give a lecture as part of the LIfBi Lectures series.

Due to a railway strikes, the lecture will not take place on site, but only online via Zoom. All personal scientific consultations will also take place online.

Abstract:

The project PIONEERED – POLICIES AND PRACTICES TACKLING EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES IN EUROPE (2021-2024) has been attempting to map innovative policies and practices to reduce systematic disadvantages of certain groups in European education systems, and finally to identify the most promising tools. The mixed-method approach includes desk research, policy analysis, quantitative data analysis of existing data sets and qualitative interviews and sight visits.

This lecture consists of three different parts: While a first part will introduce the project funded by the Horizon 2020 scheme of the European commission, particularly its objectives and research design, the other parts will focus on the presentation of results. Results of quantitative analyses reveal the prevalence of inequalities in different European countries, focusing on social origin, ethnic background and gender as well as intersections between these axes of inequality. Results of the sub-studies on policies and practices will be summarised identifying common features of attempts to tackle educational inequalities in the PIONEERED countries. 

Key findings include that intersectional inequalities are still prevalent in European education systems, both in regard to competencies and school belonging as a non-cognitive aspect of schooling. Educational inequalities seem to be larger in secondary schooling than in primary schooling, particularly in stratified education systems with early tracking. Policies and practices to tackle educational inequalities include providing more inclusive learning settings (e.g. comprehensive secondary schooling systems in Scandinavian countries, integrative comprehensive secondary school projects in highly stratified countries), bridging formal and non-formal/informal learning settings, or providing specific resources for deprived schools and areas.